This article explores the exceptional characteristics of female employment in Portugal, drawing on comparative and historical analysis to reveal the emergence of a dual-earner family model. This involved low-wage full-time work for both men and women, while the traditional gender culture was largely maintained. Case study findings from two female-dominated industries (hospitality and clothing manufacturing) show how gender inequality within the full-time employment model is produced and implemented at industry level. We discuss the role of trade unions and employers in shaping these employment practices and in negotiating adjustments in the light of increasing competitive pressures. The article concludes by identifying the implications for theoretical conceptualizations of gender and employment.
AboímS (2010) Gender cultures and the division of labour in contemporary Europe. The Sociological Review58(2): 171–196.
2.
AlmeidaNA (1985) A esposa doméstica e estratégias familiares. Análise Social21(85): 7–44.
3.
AndréI (1996) At the centre of the periphery? Women in the Portuguese labour market. In:Garcia-RamonMDMonkJ (eds) Women of the European Union. London: Routledge, pp. 138–155.
4.
AnxoDBoulinJY (2005) Working Time Options Over the Life Course. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
5.
BarretoA (2004) Mudança Social em Portugal 1960–2000. In:PintoA (ed.) Portugal Contemporâneo. Lisbon: D. Quixote, pp. 137–162.
6.
BlauFKahnL (2003) Understanding international differences in the gender pay gap. Journal of Labor Economics21(1): 106–144.
7.
CardosoAR (1996) Women at work and economic development: Who is pushing what?Review of Radical Political Economics28(3): 1–34.
8.
CharlesM (2005) National skill regimes, postindustrialism, and sex segregation. Social Politics12(2): 289–316.
9.
ClarkeLPedersenEFMichielsensESusmanB (2005) The European construction social partners: Gender equality in theory and practice. European Journal of Industrial Relations11(2): 151–177.
10.
CromptonR (2006) Employment and the Family. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
11.
DickensL (1999) Beyond the business case: A three-pronged approach to equality action. Human Resource Management Journal9(1): 9–19.
12.
Esping-AndersenG (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
13.
Esping-AndersenG (1993) Orçamentos e democracia: Estado-providência em Espanha e Portugal. Análise Social28(122): 589–606.
14.
European Commission (2010) Employment in Europe. Luxembourg: European Commission.
Falcão-CasacaS (2010) A desigualdade de genero e a precarizacao do emprego. In:FerreiraV (ed.) A Igualdade de mulheres e homens no trabalho e no emprego em Portugal. Lisbon: CITE, pp. 261–292.
18.
FerreiraV (2002) O efeito Salieri: O sindicalismo perante as desigualdades entre homens e mulheres no emprego. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais62: 121–148.
19.
FerreiraV (2010) Introduction. In:FerreiraV (ed.) A Igualdade de mulheres e homens no trabalho e no emprego em Portugal. Lisbon: CITE, pp. 139–189.
20.
FESETE (no date) Iniciativa NOW: Novas oportunidades para as mulheres. Bacia do Ave. Porto: FESETE.
21.
HumphriesJRuberyJ (1984) The reconstruction of the supply side of the labour market: The relative autonomy of social reproduction. Cambridge Journal of Economics8(4): 331–346.
22.
INE (Instituto Nacional de Estatística) (2001) Estatísticas Históricas Portuguesas, volume 1. Lisbon: INE.
23.
LewisJ (1992) Gender and the development of welfare regimes. Journal of European Social Policy2(3): 159–173.
24.
KaramessiniM (2008) Still a distinctive southern European employment model?Industrial Relations Journal39(6): 510–531.
25.
MingioneE (2001) Labour market segmentation and informal work. In:GibsonHD (ed.) Economic Transformation, Democratization and the Integration into the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 149–192.
26.
MTSS (Ministério do Trabalho e da Segurança Social) (2006) Quadros de Pessoal. Lisbon: DGEEP/MTSS.
27.
OECD (2004) Employment Outlook. Paris: OECD.
28.
OECD (2007) Babies and Bosses. A Synthesis of Findings for OECD Countries. Paris: OECD.
29.
OrloffAS (1993) Gender and the social rights of citizenship: The comparative analysis of gender relations and welfare states. American Sociological Review58(3): 303–328.
30.
PeristaHQuintalENunesJ (2010) Working poor in Europe – Portugal. European Foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions, European Working Conditions Observatory.
31.
Pfau-EffingerB (1998) Gender cultures and the gender arrangement: A theoretical framework for cross-national gender research. Innovation11(2): 147–166.
32.
Pfau-EffingerB (2004) Development of Culture, Welfare States and Women’s Employment in Europe. Aldershot: Ashgate.
33.
RobsonPDexSWilkinsonFCortesO (1999) Low pay, labour market institutions, gender and part-time work: Cross-national comparisons. European Journal of Industrial Relations5(2): 187–207.
34.
RodriguesMJ (1996) O Sistema de Emprego em Portugal. Lisbon: D. Quixote.
35.
RuberyJFaganC (1995) Comparative industrial relations research: Reversing the gender bias. British Journal of Industrial Relations33(2): 210–235.
36.
RuberyJSmithMFaganC (1999) Women’s Employment in Europe: Trends and Prospects. London: Routledge.
37.
RuivoMGonzalezMPVarejãoJM (1998) Why is part-time work so low in Portugal and Spain? In:O’ReillyJFaganC (eds) Part-time Prospects. London: Routledge, pp. 199–213.
38.
TavoraI (2012a) Understanding the high rates of employment among low-educated women in Portugal: A comparatively-oriented case study. Gender, Work and Organization19(2): 119–141.
39.
TavoraI (2012b) The southern European social model: Familialism and the high rates of female employment in Portugal. Journal of European Social Policy22(1): 63–76.
40.
TorresACSilvaFVMonteiroTLCabritaM (2004) Homens e Mulheres entre Familia e Trabalho. Lisbon: Comissão para a Igualdade no Trabalho e no Emprego.
41.
TrifilettiR (1999) Southern European Welfare States and the Worsening Position of Women. Journal of European Social Policy9(1): 49–64.
WallKEscobedoA (2009) Portugal and Spain: Two pathways in Southern Europe? In:MossPKamermannS (eds) The Politics of Parental Leave Policies. Bristol: Policy Press, pp. 207–226.
